Justin Laube, MD, UCLA internal medicine physician, will explore the philosophy behind UCLA’s new East-West primary care clinic at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine and discuss the meaning of holistic and integrative medicine, new approaches to primary care and ways to enhance well-being through self-care.

RSVP: (800) 516-5323

Click here to view the event details in UCLA’s Vital Signs – March Community Health Programs.

We are happy to announce that UCLA Center for East-West Medicine will now be offering Primary Care services.

High quality, patient-centered continuity care is vital to the health and well being of our patients. We are excited to work with those who are looking for a more personalized approach to their health.

This one-stop health center will provide full-service patient care which is seamless between evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and referral. Our model of care emphasizes a patient-centered and problem-solving approach, while incorporating many diagnostic approaches and therapeutic modalities originating from traditional Chinese medicine.

On August 9-11, 2013, Dr. Malcolm Taw, Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, led a workshop on “The Potential Benefits of Integrative East-West Medicine” in the management of symptoms from acoustic neuroma at the ANA 21st National Symposium in Los Angeles, CA.

The Acoustic Neuroma Association published an article summarizing Dr. Taw’s presentation, which briefly defines integrative medicine, integrative East-West medicine, and myofascial pain, explains what acupuncture and trigger point injections are and how they work, and details the conditions for which these treatments can be effective. The article also illustrates several acupuncture and acupressure points that may be helpful to patients.

The UCLA Integrative East-West Esophageal Disorders Program developed a cost-effective means of treating digestive diseases, which embraces a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and innovative system that emphasizes individualized treatment and patient education for healthy living and the development or restoration of a well functioning gastrointestinal system.

Although prior small-scale randomized controlled trials have shown the potential of acupuncture in effectively managing cancer-related fatigue (CRF) after chemotherapy (1), the study by Molassiotis et al (2) is the first large, multi-site trial examining this question. In their study, 302 outpatients with breast cancer experiencing persistent long-term fatigue were assigned to one of two groups: usual care, consisting of an information booklet related to fatigue, or acupuncture plus usual care. In the acupuncture treatment group, acupuncture were standardized 20-min sessions that consisted of needling three acupoints (ST36, SP6, LI4) with the addition of alternate points chosen by the therapists to reflect real, individualized Chinese medical practice. The primary outcomes related to general fatigue were measured through self-reports by patients using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) at 6 weeks. Mental fatigue, activity, and motivation, anxiety and depression, and quality of life were also measured. Results found significant improvements on all measured outcomes for the acupuncture plus usual care group. The study thus demonstrated acupuncture’s effect on the successful management of clusters of symptoms rather than single symptoms alone. The investigators suggest that future studies should include an active control arm such as education, alongside a no treatment or wait-list arm, such that the nonspecific effects of acupuncture can also be evaluated. Bower (3) elaborated further on the Molassiotis study by addressing the need to determine an optimal acupuncture protocol for treating CRF, and pointed to the potential of including other promising nonpharmacologic treatments to enhance long-term effects. We applaud the study team for conducting a trial of this magnitude and significantly advancing scientific knowledge in this field. In this editorial, we would like to contribute to this important discussion by sharing our own clinical approach at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine (CEWM). We begin with a discussion of acupuncture treatment for fatigue, using this as a springboard for a broader invitation to consider the ways in which an integrative East-West health model, such as that in place at CEWM, can be used to create a unique system of person-centered care that is also able to address multiple problems simultaneously.